07/08/2026
Due to a very unfortunate episode yesterday I have removed my phone # from my profile. Yesterday a scammer/phisher nearly got me... I say nearly because I caught on before we got too far in but we got far enough in I had to go through the whole process of closing all of my bank accounts and open new ones just to be sure my accounts weren't compromised. Attached are the photos of everything that transpired.... It all looks so innocent that, that's the reason I'm sharing it! For obvious reasons I've blocked out an email address but it's important I share the story because I care about my friends, family, and patrons. At this time I am only going to be accepting cash for payments to my sourdough bakery items. Or, if I am around I am more than happy to work with you to transfer the money in person. Be warned I do have a camera that faces my Kart setup so if you pull any shenanigans I will have you on film and I will prosecute. I'm so sorry it's come to this and for the inconvenience this may cause. I also, at this time do NOT have Venmo. Venmo has locked my profile down to protect the integrity of the account. I have no idea how long it will be before I have it back or IF I'll ever have it back.
During this set of conversations and me calling the phone # listed on the Venmo Hold message I was instructed to download the what's App... I've never wanted whatsapp and I explicitly told the person on the other end but he assured me me once we were done with the call I could delete the app with no problems. After all I thought I was trying to verify the account so I moved forward 🤦🏼♀️... Things kept getting sketchier from here and mini red flags started popping off but not enough for me NOT to share my phone screen with them... I kept asking for photo identification of the guy to show he was actually from Venmo support and I kept getting the runaround and he kept giving me a "FDIC #" (red flag) I didn't care about a number anyone can make up I wanted proof... Finally he asked if I wanted to talk to his supervisor and that's when the final piece of the puzzle came into play.... The person I got "transferred" to slipped up and forgot to shut off his we**am before he picked up...and what I saw in the .3 seconds of the room behind him was pure chaos and resembled nothing like any type of office. I kept pressing for the credentials and stopped sharing my screen at that point... The guy on the other end became very agitated and kept trying to get me to turn my screen share back on... I kept insisting not until I see the credentials they work for Venmo support... This guy also tried to use the this is totally legit I am insured by the FDIC and my FDIC # ###xx line again oh and we were on a recorded line.... I quickly turned to the why did your "office resemble that of a very dirty bedroom" and that's when things really turned sour real quick... I got told I to Shut Up and that I was stupid and he hung up. 😳😳
After all of that I quickly called the True Venmo Support and alerted them of the problem. As I stated earlier they froze my account and took as much information as I could give them. I pray someday these a$$hats will be found and get prosecuted but I also know they work through what's known as Caller ID spoofing that runs a phone call through a bazillion different countries before it gets to the intended person they are trying to scam. Sooo chances of them getting caught are fairly slim not impossible but slim... They just need to make 1 little slip up and it gets caught by a very good agent or agents at the FCC, FTC, and Department of Justice along with local law agencies.
I know this post is long but it's important I share it and I encourage you to share it with others as well... The process it takes to "Fix" a phishing/scammer expedition is exhausting and just insanely long as you go through the process of changing EVERY account that had any of those bank account #'s attached to it. Not to mention having to take your phone to Best buy so they can run a scanner on it to find any phishing/scamming apps that may have been installed behind the scene... Fortunately for me all I did was thankfully share my screen I never granted physical access to allow them to take control of my phone. All they could do was see what was on my phone and fortunately all my passwords were covered in asterisks yet. I did however, as an added layer of precaution change the very important passwords to my sensitive accounts just to be safe.
Please, please, please be careful these scammers/phishers are getting really good at what they do.... I'm just thankful enough that I could see the red flags getting bigger the further this went on... And for anyone wondering that is wondering no that $560 never made it to Venmo and that's because I was smart enough to catch on.
One last thing before I go, Please be proactive and EDUCATE our elderly people who are not so keen to catching onto the red flags! Share my story with them and if you know of other stories share those too.. Encourage them to NEVER Share their screen with anyone they aren't in person with physically aside from people at Geek squad or trusted repair places. Our elderly already suffer enough financially and the more we can stop people from swindling hundreds to thousands of dollars from them or anyone for that matter the better this world is.
Thanks for taking the time to read my story now please share it so we can spread the word.
Have a blessed day everyone.
Paula
